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My Favorite Butternut Squash I love squash. I love all varieties of squash – zucchini and summer squash – acorn squash – spaghetti squash – buttercup squash – delicata squash – hubbard – pumpkin – just to name a few! There are so many kinds and so many ways of preparing this versatile vegetable – its Latin name is Cucurbita – that you could literally eat squash at every meal every day for a year and never repeat yourself. Acorn squash is usually on my Thanksgiving table. My son loves it with brown sugar and butter. I often also cook up some butternut squash. I adore butternut squash. It’s really…

The Reiki Sourcebook 2008 Revised Edition by Bronwen & Frans Stein Hello PaganPages readers. I go by Jadaja Talios on the Internet and in the pagan community. I just finished reading ‘the Reiki Sourcebook’ by Bronwen & Frans Stein. At first I had trouble getting into the book but then I did. One thing that caught my attention was confirmation of something that I have been saying for sometime now due to my experience with magick, especially after I had learned to center and ground. That something is that “All things are made of energy,” as quoted on page 6 from the source, ‘Chinese Medical Qigong volume 1’ by Professor Jerry Alan…

  I’m 37 weeks pregnant as I write this, and there’s a very real possibility I may need to go into hospital to have my labour induced as early as next week. I am suffering from some wildly fluctuating blood pressure, which appears (thankfully) to have no clear pathological source, other than the pain I am in from SPD. SPD is symphysis pubis dysfunction; a condition whereby the ligaments supporting the pelvis and pubic bones soften too early and too much, so that these bones are able to grind together, causing agonising pain. I don’t really sleep properly anymore, and of course, can’t take anything but the mildest painkillers. I…

Fire Clearing Merry meet. At pagan festivals, it is almost expected there will be fire performers. While fire is one of the elements and there’s something primal about it, I never saw it as particularly connected to a pagan or spiritual practice. That was until six weeks ago when a coven sister did her first fire clearing. “Ever since I’ve picked up my fans, I knew there was a spiritual component to them,” said Becky Coates who has been a fire spinner for 18 months. “Before they came into my life, I was often seeing them in sacred space and dancing with them during meditations. The first time I had…

Review of Box of Shadows   Box of Shadows is a recurring monthly Pagan Box subscription site. They offer three, very different, types of boxes. Each Box as different and interesting as the next, making choosing one a difficult decision! Their prices range from $24.99 to $44.99 + S/H. (The Supreme Box by Box of Shadows) This month I will be reviewing Box of Shadows “The Supreme” Box. At $44.99, it is described as being for the “Advanced Seeker,” based on the wheel of the year. Arrival Package (Arrival Photo) My Box of Shadows came in the mail in an unassuming package. No Pagan graphics or any tells. This I like because I…

poetry races through me like a blast of cold air off lake erie. dramatic clouds over white-capped water. sand & stone & searing exhilaration. i was kidnapped when i was 10 & sold to the gypsies. now i dance wildly every night & tell fortunes. poetry crackles in the campfire. poetry is the wine in the jug we pass. poetry is alive in my snapping fingers. my swirling red skirts. my magic red shoes. poetry. the great liberator. the lover of my life. poetry. savior of my soul. poetry. the damp grass underneath my back. a million stars over my head. *** About the Author:   Polly MacDavid lives in Buffalo,…

  Ten of Pentacles/Disks/Coins   Let’s continue with our exploration of the Tens of the Tarot Minor Arcana, this time talking about the Ten of Pentacles. If you haven’t already read the articles on the Ten of Cups and the Ten of Swords, now might be a good time to check them out. As always, here is a bit of basic foundational information about the Tens of the Tarot Minor Arcana. A Tarot deck has 78 cards. There are 22 Major Arcana cards, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with…

The Recovery Spiral and the Spiral Steps If you hang around AA for any amount of time, you will no doubt hear that you have to acquire a “Big Book” – the text of Alcoholics Anonymous – and read no other book – unless it’s the “Twelve and Twelve” – the AA book about the Twelve Steps and Twelve traditions – or one of the other “approved” literature that Alcoholics Anonymous World Services puts out. I myself own a Big Book and a Twelve and Twelve. Like everything associated with AA, there’s a lot to love about these books and a lot that honestly pisses me off about them. My…

Hematite     Hematite is a common but sometimes overlooked stone because it lacks the bright flashy colors like its other crystal counterparts. In its understated, cool dark silvery tones, this crystalline structure contains some pretty great metaphysical properties. Even though it’s known as the “stone of the mind” for its clarifying and focusing abilities, for me its best properties are for grounding, balancing and protecting.     I will often carry a small tumbled piece around in my pocket or purse to roll between my fingers when I’m feeling out of sorts or confused. This stone has a way of bringing things into focus and keeping me on an…

  The Divine Flows Through Me! My Gods and Goddesses flow through me Strong and powerful rising up in me I offer my devotion and my love. My mind is open to receive The wisdom and guidance of Divine grace. My body is the Temple that offers Its gifts in service to the Greater Work. My Gods and Goddesses flow through me They are with me always and Shine brightly for all to see.  They are the Fire of my Will…. Kali’s Rites (1.) Blood spills freely from a wild fierceness That knows no mercy or gentle hand. I am not a timid and delicate Maiden I am one who…